Hundred Flowers Campaign

The Hundred Flowers Campaign was a period in 1956 in China during which the Communist Party of China encouraged citizens to openly express their opinions of the communist regime. Mao Zedong encouraged the campaign, famously saying, "The policy of letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend is designed to promote the flourishing of the arts and the progress of science." The movement intended to encourage alienated intellectuals to return to carrying out their societal functions, but the brief period of liberalization ended in 1957, when Mao began a campaign against rightists. From 1957 to 1959, critics of the regime from 1956 were publicly criticized and condemned to prison labor camps. Maoist orthodoxy was re-imposed in public expression, and rightists were purged.